The Cell C Sharks were in top form as they returned to winning ways with an outstanding 51-3 Vodacom United Rugby Championship victory over the touring Dragons at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Friday evening.
The old adage that the game of rugby is won and lost upfront once more proved prophetic as the Cell C Sharks pack of forwards, in imperious form, were the difference in their team’s comprehensive performance.
The heavy rain forecast for the match failed to materialise which only aided the home side who revelled in perfect conditions and dominated from start to finish against the ill-disciplined Dragons who ended the game having lost three men to the sin-bin in the second half.
The tempo from the Cell C Sharks demonstrated their willingness to play with high energy and were rewarded with a kickable penalty in the opening 10 minutes that Curwin Bosch had no trouble converting to get the scoreboard ticking over.
Despite being outweighed by the Welsh pack, the Cell C Sharks forwards decimated the Dragons in the first scrum as they asserted early dominance at the set-piece. At the second scrum, the Welsh were again demolished and once more took offence at the way they were being shoved off their own ball. It was another simple penalty for Bosch who doubled his tally inside the opening quarter hour.
The visitors kicked a penalty a few minutes later, a 40m effort following an off-sides decision against the Cell C Sharks which would be their only score all night. They conceded a similar penalty moments later for Bosch to maintain his 100% record and restore the six point lead.
With the Cell C Sharks forwards continuing their fine recent form and putting in a huge shift all over the park, it was only fitting that it would be a forward to score the first try, loosehead prop Ox Nche finishing off a wonderfully crafted, accurate and uncompromising effort from his fellow forwards to power his way over. With Bosch adding the conversion, the Cell C Sharks held a handy 16-3 lead going into the final 10 minutes of an entertaining first half.
Three minutes later, the stunning work from the forwards was rewarded again, a relentless, 20m rolling maul with Bongi Mbonambi in possession at the back earned the second try, converted by Bosch for a 20 point lead.
A scrum penalty ended off the half on a high note and served to reinforce the Cell C Sharks’ complete dominance at the set-piece as the teams headed for the change rooms with the home side enjoying a two try to nil, 23-3 lead at half-time.
Dominating the early stages of the second half, it was only a matter of time before the Cell C Sharks would score their third try, with Werner Kok blitzing his way through numerous defenders to score after more great work from the scrum. Bosch’s conversion saw his side into a 30-3 lead.
The bonus point came courtesy of a penalty try after Marius Louw had charged down an attempted clearance, regathered and in the process of passing to would-be try-scorer Ben Tapuai, a deliberate knock-down of the ball led to a yellow card and the bonus point try for a 37-3 lead with the final quarter left to play.
An inglorious moment ensured minutes later when the Dragons were reduced to 13 men for a second deliberate knock-down with the Cell C Sharks on their tryline and there was no hesitation in awarding a second penalty try and yellow card in short time to add to the visitors’ woes.
With a host of changes and new energy on the field, and against a 13 man team struggling to contain the Durbanites, Anthony Volmink scored try number seven after the numbers advantage was too much for the visitors to handle. The conversion brought up a rare half century.
The Dragons had more than met their match and together with an ill-disciplined performance that let them down, suffered their second successive 50-pointer on South African soil.
Vodacom Man of the Match Werner Kok paid tribute to his forwards afterwards, saying: “This performance was the step-up we needed, hats off to all the boys who really grafted hard. We can’t play of the forwards don’t dominate, and they did so all respect to them.”
The post Comprehensive Victory appeared first on The Sharks.
Cell C Sharks vs Dragons Rugby Match Preview:
When the Cell C Sharks host Dragons Rugby at Hollywoodbets Kings Park tonight, they will be hoping to produce a complete Vodacom United Rugby Championship performance against the Welsh.
The Durban side will look to return to winning ways following a four match bonus point winning streak, but the Dragons, reinforced by returning Welsh internationals, will also be hoping to produce a strong performance.
With just five matches remaining in the pool stages, the result of this game is vitally important for a Cell C Sharks side still in the top 8 and looking to entrench their position on the log.
The Dragons’ only victory in the tournament, against Connacht, was back in October and they come to Hollywoodbets Kings Park looking to shrug off their most recent loss, a 55-20 defeat to the Vodacom Bulls last Saturday.
Discussing the changes he has made to the team for this match, Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt explained that the rotation was premeditated.
“It’s not as a consequence of the loss because the team did everything in their power to win the game,” he said.
“We know fatigue is starting to set in and this was a good opportunity to freshen up after a tough three weeks.”
He added that the Dragons’ loss to the Bulls had nothing to do with his team selection, “We expect Dragons to be a different kettle of fish down here in Durban, they’ve flown in four international players and we’re expecting a physical onslaught from them. They’re not to be underestimated at all.”
Giving senior back row players a break from starting and installing a young trio of players
“I’m very confident in their abilities, James Venter showed that when he’s on form he’s probably one of the best sixes in South Africa. He’s been outstanding in the Carling Currie Cup, leading the team with aplomb and played well when he came off the bench. He’s not really a youngster and brings a lot of experience tot he two 23 year olds.
“Phepsi Buthelezi has performed well, we felt we needed to give Sikhumbuzo Notshe a string of games to get back into full fitness because of his long injury lay-off and this is another opportunity for Phepsi to continue the form he left when Notshe came in.
“Jeandre Labuschagne is a good line-out option for us, he also performed exceptionally well in the URC up until his injury against the Bulls in February.
“So it’s great that they’re able to return and that we have depth in that position.”
With Dragons well-acquainted with wet weather rugby, and the prediction of rain for tonight’s match, the conditions may well favour the Welsh side. For Everitt, it’s about taking opportunities and limiting the opponents’.
“In last week’s game, we can look at the opportunities we created on attack and didn’t finish, but we must also look at the points we conceded and three tries we could have handled normally which meant we would have had to score four. In these conditions, to score four tries you have to do something special and that was a massive issue last week.
“We’ve been working on those opportunities, concentrated on small detail where we feel we fell short and I know that it will be better tonight.”
The post Cell C Sharks vs Dragons Rugby Match Preview appeared first on The Sharks.
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Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: In June 2007 the KZN parliament passed the Prevention of Slums Bill in the Provincial Parliament. The Bill compels landowners to evict shackdwellers, on the threat of arrest and criminalises resistance to evictions. The provincial Department of Housing, that brought the Bill to the Provincial Parliament, has repeatedly stated that ‘the slums will be cleared by 2010 in KwaZulu-Natal’. The Bill has been heavily criticised by academics, human rights organisations and civil society. The shack dwellers’ movement Abahlali baseMjondolo is planning mass mobilising against the Bill and is also taking the matter to the Constitutional Court with support from a pro bono legal centre.
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